Primary

The Primary envvironment consists of children age 2.5-3 years through 6 years of age. Ideally, children remain for a full 3 years, after which the child may move into an elementary class or a traditional first grade.﻿ The areas of the Prepared Environment include Practical Life, Sensorial, Mathematics and Language.

Practical Life lessons promote independence, refinement of movement, hand-eye coordination, motive for activity, concentration, attention to task, sense of order, care of self and environment, patience and refinement of the hand.

The area of Sensorial is organized around the senses of touch, smell, taste, sight and hearing. The child will work to recognize which sensation is invovled in each lesson and gradually comes to an abstract understanding of the materials' discernable qualities.﻿

Language provides the tools for communication. When the child acquires language, he is able to read and write. With these tools, the child can explore his cultural heritage and gain an appreciation of the natural order of the physical world around him.﻿

Mathematics is usually the area that the child will explore last. It involves great concentration and allows the child to further his knowledge from the previous years. Math lessons usually begin around age four. There are many previous lessons that have prepared the child for this journey. The child will come to learn the abstract form of math free from the math anxiety that many of us have experienced.﻿